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Endurance

How to develop a good solid base on which to develop
speed.

Brian Mackenzie explains the body's energy systems and the objective of endurance training.

A good base of endurance and strength is important before the
specific speed and strength requirements of the athlete's sport/event can be
developed, if you wish your athlete to ovoid injury. The objective of endurance
training is to develop the energy production system(s) to meet the demands of
the sport/event.

What are the energy production systems?

In the human body, food energy is used to manufacture adenosine
triphosphate (ATP) the chemical compound that supplies energy for muscular
contraction. Since ATP is in very low concentrations in the muscle, and since
it decreases only to a minor extent, even in the most intense voluntary
contraction, tightly controlled energy pathways exist for the continual
regeneration of ATP as muscular contraction continues. For continuous exercise,
ATP must be re-synthesised at the same rate as it is utilised. There are four
types of endurance: Aerobic, Anaerobic, Speed and Strength endurance. A sound
basis of aerobic endurance is fundamental for all events.

The distribution of aerobic to anaerobic endurance for the runner
is approximately:

Distance/Event

% Aerobic

%Anaerobic

200 metres

5

95

400 metres

17

83

800 metres

34

66

1500 metres

55

45

5000 metres

80

20

10,000 metres

90

10

Marathon

98

2

Aerobic Endurance

During aerobic work (aerobic means 'with oxygen') the body
is working at a level that the demands for oxygen and fuel can be meet by the
body's intake. The only waste products formed are carbon dioxide and water.
These are removed as sweat and by breathing out.

Aerobic endurance can sub-divided as follows:

Short aerobic - 2 minutes to 8 minutes
(lactic/aerobic)

Medium aerobic - 8 minutes to 30 minutes (mainly
aerobic)

Long aerobic - 30 minutes + (aerobic)

Aerobic endurance is developed through the use of continuous
and interval running

The aerobic threshold, the point at which anaerobic
energy pathways start to operate, is considered to be around 75% of the
athlete's maximum heart rate. This is approximately 20 beats lower than the
anaerobic threshold.

Anaerobic endurance

During anaerobic work (anaerobic means 'without oxygen'),
involving maximum effort, the body is working so hard that the demands for
oxygen and fuel exceed the rate of supply and the muscles have to rely on the
stored reserves of fuel. In this situation waste products accumulate, the chief
one being lactic acid. The muscles, being starved of oxygen, take the body into
a state known as oxygen debt. The body's stored fuel soon runs out and activity
ceases - often painfully. Activity will not be resumed until the lactic acid is
removed and the oxygen debt repaid. Fortunately the body can resume limited
activity after even only a small proportion of the oxygen debt has been repaid.
As lactic acid is produced the correct term for this pathway is lactic
anaerobic energy pathway. The alactic anaerobic pathway is the one in which the
body is working anaerobically but without the production of lactic acid. This
energy pathway can exist only so long as the fuel actually stored in the muscle
lasts, approximately 4 seconds at maximum effort.

Anaerobic endurance can be sub-divided as follows:

Short anaerobic - less than 25 seconds (mainly alactic)

Medium anaerobic - 25 seconds to 60 seconds (mainly
lactic)

Long anaerobic - 60 seconds to 120 seconds (lactic
+aerobic)

Using repetition work of relatively high intensity with limited
recovery can develop anaerobic endurance.

Anaerobic threshold

The anaerobic threshold, the point at which lactic acid starts to
accumulates in the muscles, is considered to be somewhere between 85% and 90%
of your maximum heart rate.

Speed endurance

Speed endurance is used to develop the co-ordination of muscle
contraction in the climate of endurance. Repetition methods are used with a
high number of sets, low number of repetitions per set and intensity greater
than 85% with distances covered from 60% to 120% of racing distance.
Competition and time trials can be used in the development of speed endurance.

Energy production is both time and intensity related. Running at a
very high intensity, as in sprinting, means that an athlete can operate
effectively for only a very short period of time.

Running at a low intensity, as in gentle jogging, means that an
athlete can sustain activity for a long period of time. Training introduces
another variable, and the sprinter who uses sound training principles is able
to run at a high intensity for longer periods of time. Similarly, the endurance
athlete who uses sound training methods can sustain higher intensities during a
set period of time. There is a relationship between the exercise intensity and
the energy source.

Energy Pathways

D. Matthews and E. Fox, in their book, "The Physiological
Basis of Physical Education and Athletics", divides the running requirements of
various sports into the following "energy pathways": ATP-PC and LA, LA-02, and
02.

· ATP - Adenosine Triphosphate : a complex
chemical compound formed with the energy released from food and stored in all
cells, particularly muscles. Only from the energy released by the breakdown of
this compound can the cells perform work. The breakdown of ATP produces energy
and ADP

PC - Phosphate-creatine : a chemical compound stored in
muscle, which when broken down aids in the manufacture of ATP. The combination
of ADP and PC produces ATP

LA - Lactic acid: a fatiguing metabolite of the lactic
acid system resulting from the incomplete breakdown of glucose. However Noakes
in South Africa has discovered that although excessive lactate production is
part of the extreme fatigue process, it is the protons produced at the same
time that restrict further performance

O2 means aerobic running in which ATP is manufactured
from food, mainly sugar and fat. This system produces ATP copiously and is the
prime energy source during endurance activities

These energy pathways are restricted by time. In other
words, once a certain time elapses that specific pathway is no longer used.
There is some controversy about these limitations but the general consensus
is:

Duration

Classification

Energy Supplied By

1-4 seconds

Anaerobic

ATP (in muscles)

4-20 seconds

Anaerobic

ATP + PC

20-45 seconds

Anaerobic

ATP + PC + Muscle glycogen

45-120 seconds

Anaerobic, Lactic

Muscle glycogen

120-240 seconds

Aerobic + Anaerobic

Muscle glycogen + lactic acid

240-600 seconds

Aerobic

Muscle glycogen + fatty acids

The result of muscle contraction produces ADP which when coupled
with PC (stored in the muscles) regenerates ATP. Actively contracting muscles
obtain ATP from glucose stored in the blood stream and the breakdown of
glycogen stored in the muscles. Exercise for longer periods of time requires
the complete oxidation of carbohydrates or free fatty acids in the
mitochondria. The carbohydrate store will last approx. 90 minutes and the free
fatty store will last several days. All three energy systems contribute at the
start of exercise but the contribution depends upon the individual, the effort
applied or on the rate at which energy is used.

The Anaerobic (ATP-CP) Energy System

Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) stores in the muscle last for
approximately 2 seconds and the resynthesis of ATP from Creatine/Phosphate (CP)
will continue until CP stores are depleted, approximately 4 to 5 seconds. This
gives us around 5 to 7 seconds of ATP production. To develop this energy
system, sessions of 4 to 7 seconds of high intensity work at near peak velocity
are required. e.g.

3 x 10 x 30m with recovery of 30 seconds/repetition and 5
minutes/set

15 x 60m with 60 seconds recovery

20 x 20m shuttle runs with 45 seconds recovery

The Anaerobic Lactate (Glycolytic) System

Once the CP stores are depleted the body resorts to stored glucose
for ATP. The breakdown of glucose or glycogen in anaerobic conditions results
in the production of lactate and hydrogen ions. The accumulation of hydrogen ions is the limiting factor causing fatigue in runs of 300m to 800m. Sessions
to develop this energy system:

There are three different working units within this energy system:
Speed Endurance, Special Endurance 1 and Special Endurance 2. Each of these
units can be developed as follows:

Speed Endurance

Special Endurance 1

Special Endurance 2

Intensity

95-100%

90-100%

90-100%

Distance

80-150 metres

150-300metres

300-600 metres

No of Repetitions/Set

2 to 5

1 to 5

1 to 4

No of Sets

2 to 3

1

1

Total distance/session

300-1200 metres

300 -1200 metres

300-1200 metres

Example

3 x (60, 80, 100)

2x150m+2x200m

3 x 500m

The Aerobic Energy System

The aerobic energy system utilises proteins, fats and carbohydrate
(glycogen) for resynthesising ATP. This energy system can be developed with
various intensity (Tempo) runs. The types of Tempo runs are:

Continuous Tempo - long slow runs at 50-70% of maximum heart
rate. This places demands on muscle and liver glycogen. The normal response by
the system is to enhance muscle and liver glycogen storage capacities and
glycolytic activity associated with these processes

Extensive Tempo - continuous runs at 60-80% of maximum heart
rate. This places demands on the system to cope with lactate production.
Running at this level assists the removal and turnover of lactate and body's
ability to tolerate greater levels of lactate

Intensive Tempo - continuous runs at 80-90% of maximum heart
rate. Lactate levels become high as these runs boarder on speed endurance and
special endurance. Intensive tempo training lays the base for the development
of anaerobic energy systems.

Sessions to develop this energy system:

4 to 6 x 2 top 5 minute runs - 2 to 5 minutes recovery

20 x 200m - 30 seconds recovery

10 x 400m - 60 to 90 seconds recovery

5 to 10 kilometre runs

Energy System recruitment

Although all energy systems basically turn on at the same time the
recruitment of an alternative system occurs when the current energy system is
almost depleted. The following table provides an approximation of the
percentage contribution of the energy pathways in certain sports. (Fox et al
1993)

Article Reference

Page Reference

If you quote information from this page in your work then the reference for this page is:

MACKENZIE, B. (2003) How to develop a good solid base on which to develop speed [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/scni1a4.htm [Accessed

About the Author

Brian Mackenzie is a British Athletics level 4 performance coach and a coach tutor/assessor. He has been coaching sprint, middle distance and combined event athletes for the past 30+ years and has 45+ years experience as an endurance athlete.

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